Errbody Gettin Tipsy

17 Juillet 2010

Went to Baratapas (I may or may not be spelling that right...but if I'm not, I'm gonna need you to come to West Africa and give me a spelling lesson - please, enlighten me)...so yes - I went to Baratapas with: get ready - it's a long list:

Austin, Nick, Nate, Daneil, Dan Pinte, Josh, Sam, Margo, Amanda, Christi, Erika, and another PCV's name I completely forget the name of (no hard feelings)

We ordered food, beer and some of us got a round of shots - I soon realized that I am a complete light-weight in West Africa! After a shot I felt my eyes getting heavy. Talk about sad times. Gosh. But - let's first talk about these shots - er - well - how they are made, or mixed, rather. This French man who owns the bar soaks and flavors his own rum!

Y U M - O !

He had anana, mint, mangue, candy - or baileys flavored - ginger and probably more. So the 1st shot I tried was the anananaaa!! I love that word, and the fruit, and the flavored rum! Didn't taste anything like pineapple - just rum that completely burned as it went down - but still marvelous! After that shot we got our food: Pulled pork avec mangue and crudité! It was great! Probably some of the best food I've had since I got to this country. Amanda and I shared a beer - yes, beer - I know, I don't like beer. But I will say that in this country - I enjoy beer. All wonderful until I decided I needed to go check out the bathroom. I was fine - but for some reason the world was on a weird teeter-totter tilt and made it extremely difficult for me to walk straight. I will say - I covered it up quite well! At least I think I did. But boy was I feeling it. Stumbling a wee bit - but straight. Austin, Nick and Nate all made fun of me - thanks guys.

So here's the good part - got to the bathroom after walking down this long, dark corridor - and everything was wet! The floor. The sink. The toilet. I looked around for some kind of leak - but nothing - just Africa. Ha. Okay - so after contemplating whether or not I should take my chances in the oceanic bathroom - I looked at this picture, rather, mural: Two men. One man is standing while urinating into the toilet - yet, he is doing this with the biggest frown ever. The other man is sitting on the toilet while urinating - with the BIGGEST smile on the planet! The frowning man had a big red X over his body...the other man did not.

What?

Yes - I decided I could hold my urge to go - I'm not an expert at hovering yet.

After a few more sips and snacks I bought Austin, myself and Erika each a shot! Generous, I know. I tried mint this time and O H E M G E E it burned and was so strong! The French man, Allan, said that ginger was the strongest, and Austin said he about threw up after trying it two years ago. = Vagabond...I'm gonna need you to take that one like a champ. I know you can do it!

We left and all went to this jazz bar. It had old pictures of jazz artists everywhere - all B&W - so I was as happy as a bee in a field of daisies. And on top of that - the bar was playing a lot of old jazz in A N G L A I S. Definitely a good choice. Played darts. Watched people dance. Watched the fellows play pool. It was a pretty chill place. Good conversations too. Let's hear it for connecting with a fellow Texan from TX A&M...Gig'em. I'm actually pretty excited there are a few other Texans here to connect with.

Hello, I'm Lauren. Nice to Meet you!

Let's see...what do you need to know about me?

I'm a recent graduate from Texas State University, and earned a degree in Advertising with a minor in Photography. And you ask why on earth am I in Africa?

Well - since my sophomore year in college at Midwestern State University, the year I realized I wasn't going into the medical field, I've been looking into the Peace Corps to fill that void of needing to help those who, well, are in need. It took me about a year to start filling out my application - and another year or so to turn it in - at this point I had transferred to Texas State University in San Marcos, TX. It was a long process - but well worth it. I ended up needing to temporarily suspend my application just as soon as I turned it in due to the fact that I didn't have much volunteer experience. I started volunteering at a hospice in Austin, TX called Doug's House which directly cares for people who are living with HIV/AIDS. As soon as I started volunteering, I graduated from Texas State and then took a quick one month vacation home and to Centralia, WA. Since I came back, I've been living in Austin, TX volunteering as a caregiver at Doug's House, a tutor of ESL to 7 adults and working two jobs - The American Red Cross of Central Texas and a second photographer/assistant for She-N-He Photography & Design. My Peace Corps recruiter from Dallas called shortly after I came back from "vacation" and said I needed to reactivate my application and come up to Dallas as soon as possible for an interview due to an influx of money!

Since my interview - the timeline between having my interview to getting invited has been relatively short. I had an interview on the 15th of January, and was invited to serve in Africa on the 20th of March (when normally it could take anywhere between 6 to 9 months between nomination and invitation).

So where am I now? Still in the States - but preparing for my departure on the 21st of June. I've received my invitation packet, have put my paperwork into getting both my passport and visa through PC, emailed an updated resume and a letter of aspiration to my country of service (Burkina Faso) and am patiently waiting for my staging kit from SATO Travel.

waiting...

patience...

oh my - I just want to go!